Dark Angel
by Bottled Fame
Summary: Young Severus Snape and Bella Black in a Muggle car.


**DARK ANGEL**

The bunch of young men had fun while driving the minibus through the outskirts of London. Everything was running smoothly that night. They had "organized" the car an hour ago on a deserted road and had had their jokes with the muggle family who owned it, too. They had left the woman bald-headed, and her cheeky daughters had been endowed with pig snouts. The Head of the family, on the other hand, would be missing some very precious body parts.

Antonin sat in the rear and laughed out loud as he thought of it again. He took the goblet that Evan offered to him. "What you think, Evan? What will we do if some muggle policeman is going to check us?"

Evan smirked. "Leave him to me, I'd say...but we won't be noticed, because we have such a talented driver-" He stared at the man with the greasy black hair. "Tell me, Snape, when did you learn to drive a muggle car?"

Severus's hands were clenching the wheel. He had to concentrate hard to keep the car on the road and the engine in the right speed. He had not been practising for a long time. "I was bored and tried the truck of our Muggle neighbours once in a while..." he pressed through his gritted teeth.

"And the Muggles didn't notice?"

"I did it when it was night, and of course I had to take care of them."

Evan laughed. Antonin grinned, imagining stunned Muggles in their underwear.

They reached Grimmauld Place where they would pick up Bella. Severus had been looking forward to that and had been anxious to keep the front passenger seat vacant, but Jugson had occupied it, and he for sure would not give it up – in fact the man beside him was snoring.

Bella swiftly stepped out from the shadows in the doorway and approached the car. Snape had stepped out to open the rear door for her.

"Hello Severus!" she said impishly, "So, you are my chauffeur tonight?" Her robes brushed against his arm as she entered.

Whenever possible, Severus looked into the mirror to catch a glimpse of Bella. Her shiny dark hair was reflecting the light of the fire that Evan had conjured up in a goblet. Severus could not pull away from her eyes, those gleaming dark gems beneath the long, thick lashes. It was difficult to draw his attention back to the road again.

Behind him, Bella was amusing herself with transfiguring a rat. Antonin made her laugh about some naughty jokes he made. The sound of Bella's laughter prickled across the skin of Severus's neck. He envied Dolohov and Rosier for being closer with Bella than he was. He loved her strength, the fortitude that she radiated – she had tremendous assertiveness, and automatically had her audience wherever she was showing up. How he wished that he could have the same influence on people...even more, he wished that Bella would become more aware of him.

"That's a fine draught you made there, Severus," said Bella.

The timbre of her voice sent shivers down his spine. In the mirror he could see her smiling impishly at him. Her long slender fingers were holding a goblet. Immersed in the imagination of these fingers touching his skin, he almost missed the humpy road to Karkaroff's estate.

The passengers were in a quite excited mood when they stepped out of the car. Karkaroff had announced a party, and they expected him to have again arranged a special amusement for them. Severus offered his arm to Bella asshe stepped out of the car. She gathered up her robes and provided him with a view of the fine lines of her ankles. The feel of her arm resting on his amazed him. He found that her gaze showed some...longing?

"Thank you, Severus," she whispered in his ear. Her breath was stroking his face, and the desire in him made him shiver. He wanted this girl, and he would get her tonight, for sure.

Her long hair, streaming down her back, swayed to her smooth movements as she was walking into the house. He could have watched her forever.

"Ah, Severus," said Karkaroff, "how nice that you are able to attend today!"

Severus distractedly exchanged some polite phrases with the host. His whole attention, however, was focused on following Bella's figure through the crowd as she was mingling with the other guests. Eventually he caught up with her.

"Can I have a dance with you?"

Bella smiled. But before she could reply, a young, athletic man was harshly embracing her from behind. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Scoundrel!" he growled jokingly, "you kept me waiting for more than an hour!"

Severus stretched out his arm to defend her. "Hey!?"

The other lazily brushed away Severus's arm. "Who's that fool?"

"Oh, that's Severus – he's my driver tonight," Bella had quickly recovered from the sudden clasp. "He was asking me for my first dance," she added, and was nestling up to the man's embrace like a cat.

"Ha, he'd like that wouldn't he?"

"Ah, come on, Rodolphus," Severus heard Bella say as they moved away from him and towards the bar, "You know I like to be flattered by the young guys."

Both laughed. Over her shoulder, she winked mischievously at Severus. Then she turned away and rested her head on Rodolphus's shoulder. Severus watched them go.

"Does that youngster even know how to snog?" Rodolphus's voice subsided in the distance.

* * *

The stinging pain that coursed through his heart as he recalled that night made Severus angry. In the red fume that hovered over the cauldron before him he could see Bella's long hair, its dark silky strands running over her shoulders and framing her beautiful face. 

He had never danced with Bella.

And right now, while he was in his office and watching over the concoction, she was sitting in some wet, cold hole in Azkaban. A sardonic expression crossed his face as he dipped the spoon into the potion and continued to stir: She deserved it indeed.

**+End+**


End file.
